The Joint Dissemination Review Panel (JDRP), part of the U.S. Department of Education, is one of the most important federal mechanisms for recognizing quality in education. Although it has reviewed close to 700 projects in its 15-year history, the JDRP is still not widely known in the field of evaluation. This paper analyzes the JDRP process and its evaluation practices and contrasts it with evaluation criteria of the National Science Teachers Association and with effective schools research. This paper further analyzes the JDRP through the use of the Standards for Evaluations of Educational Programs, Projects and Materials, developed by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. The standards are grouped in four areas: usability, feasibility, propriety, and accuracy. Results highlight those elements of an evaluation to which the JDRP attends and how this has influenced the composition of projects it reviews and approves. (Author/JAZ)